In a surprising move, the Houston Rockets have decided not to match the three year, $46 million offer sheet the Dallas Mavericks gave to forward Chandler Parsons. This of course means that Parsons is now a member of the Mavericks, giving them a young, athletic weapon to help ease some of the burden on aging star Dirk Nowitzki.

The move by the Rockets is fairly surprising, given that they just lost out on Chris Bosh in free agency and were clearly looking to keep a third “star” in the fold. The money they would have had to paid Parsons was too onerous, it seems, and was obviously enough of an issue that they felt it prudent to let him go to their Southwest Division rivals.

This is not to say, though, that Houston is simply standing pat. After letting Parsons walk, they agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Washington Wizards for Trevor Ariza. The small forward will make $32 million over four years, returning to the team with which he spent 2010 and enjoyed his best statistical season.